When Allen arrived at his usual café, he looked at the girl with pink-dyed hair behind the counter.
"You're already here, Rose. I forgot you were coming in today."
"Alex is on the terrace. Is it… safe?"
Allen sat down in front of the counter, not understanding Rose's question—until she showed him a newspaper featuring a picture of him holding a woman in his arms, the ground around him cracked and jutting upward.
"You mean that? Nothing will happen. Otherwise Calibur would've disposed of the evidence, and his boss would've bribed or threatened the media. I don't know what they're planning, but they could've come after me since that very day."
A pair of hands rested on Allen's shoulders and began massaging them.
"When are you going to forget what happened?"
"Everyone carries their own burdens. Mine is having blood on my hands—for better or worse."
Alex sighed, moved to the opposite side of the counter next to Rose, and leaned on it.
"By the way, you've already earned a hero name."
"Please don't let it be ridiculous."
Alex and Rose both grinned as they flipped through the newspaper until they reached a certain page.
"They've titled you the 'Reckless Rookie.'"
Allen stared at Rose in disbelief.
"How am I reckless for protecting a lady in danger? It's absurd no matter how you look at it."
Alex burst into laughter, though he was clearly holding most of it in.
"You were also called the 'Mad Knight' for jumping from the 59th floor with a civilian."
Allen went silent for a few seconds.
"Reckless Rookie… and Mad Knight… I'm going to be the media's laughingstock for months."
Rose placed a cup of coffee in front of him and opened the newspaper to the heroes' news section.
"Yours is a minor article—it only gets a small segment compared to…"
Alex stopped Rose before she could finish. That's when Allen saw the main headline of the section, and an intense hatred awakened inside him, twisting his expression into something rarely seen.
"Calibur… killed Gigax Leo? Calibur? Are they talking about—that Calibur!?"
His voice rose steadily, like a water bubble ready to burst.
"Calm down, Allen, you should know that Calibur—"
Just like before, Alex silenced Rose. Allen, however, fixed his gaze on her with a faint yellow glow in his eyes.
"Finish. I should know that Calibur what?"
"Calibur is coming to City F because he's running for Federation President. He's going to present his electoral program and future plans."
Alex completed what Rose was going to say, but Allen only heard one thing: that Calibur was coming.
A sinister smile spread across Allen's face—until Alex snapped him out of it with a slap, leaving the right side of his face red with the imprint of a hand. After a brief silence, Allen stood up and left the café. Rose and Alex watched his back as he walked away.
---
In a nearby park, Allen sat on a bench and watched birds peck at bread crumbs scattered on the ground.
He pulled a brown crystal stone from his pocket and rolled it between his fingers in silence.
"I didn't expect to find you in a place like this, Allen."
Allen turned toward the man who had spoken. The most striking thing about him was the long scar across his face. The man casually sat next to him and pulled out a piece of stale bread.
"I always come here to take a break from work and watch the birds. What brings you here?"
The man asked calmly. Allen didn't know who he was, but still answered. Ever since joining the Federation, he had met various heroes from Shinobi's team. Since Allen didn't hide his face as thoroughly, everyone recognized him easily—while he had to figure out who they were behind their masks and balaclavas.
"Did you know that Calibur is coming to the city?"
"So that's what this is about… both the heroes from this Federation branch and the city's villains have known for days."
"And nobody had the decency to tell me?"
The man smiled and threw tiny crumbs onto the ground.
"It's not about decency—it's about fear. You're a rookie who has killed a monster and two Uncontrolled. Add the fact that Shinobi knows your history with Calibur, and it only took a few words from him—with Titan's help—for everyone to keep quiet."
Allen nodded. He understood the situation Shinobi was in.
Shinobi had accepted Allen into his team. If Allen did anything against Federation rules, Shinobi would be held responsible.
"And remember what you did a couple of weeks ago. You jumped from the 59th floor with a civilian. It was a good deed, but you were still on probation. Shinobi had to explain everything to the higher-ups. If he weren't one of the top one hundred A-Ranks, they would've dismissed him already."
Allen nodded again. He knew Shinobi had been summoned to give an explanation, but he hadn't realized it was serious enough to draw the attention of the higher ranks. He thought, at most, they'd warn him not to break Federation rules again.
"You're too impulsive, Allen. You need to calm down and think before acting. Although in a way… you're lucky."
The man smiled, tossing the last crumbs before looking at Allen again.
"Most hero teams are bribed. Hero leaders in other cities make deals with villain guilds. Sometimes they even ignore monster appearances on purpose—letting the monsters destroy part of the city before they show up to 'defeat' them. That way they profit more from reconstruction.
Here, the only teams are Shinobi's and General Titan's. Because of several circumstances, they merged and are now a single team."
The man brushed off his hands and stood up, smiling at Allen.
"Together, they decided Titan would run for Federation President, while Shinobi manages the heroes in this city. Their goal is to purify what was once a home for Ability Users, expose corrupt heroes as public villains, and begin anew. But they can't do it alone."
Allen chuckled bitterly.
"And what exactly am I supposed to do? I'm nothing but a failed experiment… nothing more…"
The man's smile disappeared. He shook his head and sighed.
After a moment of thought, he grabbed Allen by the arm, forced him to stand, and punched him in the stomach. Allen doubled over, pale, staring at the man in shock.
"Allen, the media calls you the Mad Knight… but do you know what the woman you saved calls you?"
Allen, face twisted in pain, didn't need to ask—the man kept speaking, his tone serious.
"The woman you saved calls you a hero. So act like one. You can't fall apart just because someone you hate is coming. It's not just Shinobi and Titan trying everything to prevent the Federation from assigning you to another city. Others on their side are erasing your tracks and altering recordings to make you look weaker than you really are.
The least you can do is repay their effort by standing firm, even if it costs you."
The man lifted Allen back up and looked him in the eyes before releasing him. Then he reached into a pocket on his shirt and pulled out a small, round metallic device.